The Furniture 2021 report offers a market-leading analysis of the $1.33tr furniture sector from a commercial and strategic perspective. Inside, we bring the research to life with quick-read graphics and practical case study examples on 11 retail giants.
Digital Editor, Scarlette Isaac, zooms in on the highlights of the B&Q case study.
B&Q is a leading brand in home improvement and garden living with a retail presence of some 300 stores. Following lockdown, the DIY merchant dramatically improved its online traffic in alignment with the accelerated shift online. With this uplift in traffic, sales for 2020/21 are looking positive.
Kingfisher, the brand’s owner, has also seen strong growth – particularly in the first quarter of the financial year, to April 30 2021, where the group reported online sales up by 63% compared to the same time last year – and by 258% on the same time two years ago.
Sales also grew in Kingfisher’s French (+97.4% to £1.2bn), Iberian (+110.8% to £90m), and Romanian (+67.2% to £72m) businesses. In Poland (-8.9%) sales fell as all stores were closed between March 27 and May 3, partly offset as customers opted to collect their online orders at contactless drive thru’ and car park collection points.
Kingfisher chief executive Thierry Garnier, says demand from existing and new customers continues to be high. “We continue to develop, test and roll out multiple innovative propositions for our customers, with more compact store tests and we have also started to roll out our NeedHelp services marketplace in B&Q and Poland. With the strong start to the year, we now anticipate first half sales and adjusted pre-tax profit to be ahead of our previous expectations. Whilst the second half of the financial year remains naturally uncertain, we continue to see supportive long-term trends for our industry and are confident of continued outperformance of our wider markets.”
The analysis included in this article was originally featured in the RetailX Sector Analyst Report: Furniture 2021. For further insight into this dynamic sector, download the full version here.
